SOURCES OF HISTORY : HISTORICAL  Old maps that may reveal how space and

CRITICISM geography were used to emphasize trade routes,

structural buildup, etc.

Sources of History
 Historical evidences are important proof of the  Murillo-Velarde Map of
truthfulness of the past. These evidences the Philippines 1734
become the sources of historical data.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF SOURCES OF  Cartoons for political expression or propaganda

HISTORY
1. Primary Sources
2. Secondary Sources
3. Tertiary Sources

A. Primary Sources - Provides direct or firsthand

evidences about an event, object, person or work of art.
 Material evidence of prehistoric past like cave
 These are the evidences by eyewitness or created drawings, old syllabaries, and ancient writings.
by people who experienced the said event or
phenomena.
 The historian’s responsibility is to organize the
primary sources into coherent account to
become secondary source.

 Photographs that may reflect social conditions

of historical realities and everyday life  Statistical tables, graphs, and charts.

 Oral history or recordings by electronic means

of accounts of eyewitnesses or participants;
 Old sketches and drawings that may indicate the recordings are then transcribed and used for
conditions of life of societies in the past research.
 Empirical studies-
research where an
experiment was
performed or a direct
observation was
made.

 Published and
unpublished primary
documents, eyewitness accounts, and other
written sources.
 B. Secondary Sources- Are interpretations of
history they describe, discuss, interpret, comment
upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process
primary sources.
 These are products of people or writers
who were not part of the event or
phenomena.
 Books, articles, and scholarly journals that
had interpreted primary sources or had used
them to discuss certain subject of history.
C. Tertiary Sources - Contains information that
has been compiled from primary and secondary sources.
 Almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias,
directories, guidebooks, indexes, abstracts,
manuals, and textbooks.
TYPES OF HISTORICAL SOURCES
1. Archival Materials
 Business and personal correspondence
 Diaries and journals
 Legal and financial documents
 Photographs, maps, architectural drawings
 Computer Tapes
 Video and Audio Cassettes
2. Government Documents
 Evidence of activities, function, and policies.
 Hearing and debates of legislative bodies.
 Official text of laws, regulations and treaties.
 Records of government expenditures and
finances.
 Statistical compilations of economic, and
scientific data.
3. Serials
 Journals, magazines, and newspapers that
are published on daily basis.
 Book reviews, editorials, and review
articles.
4. Books
5. Visual and Audio Materials
 Maps, photographs, prints, graphic arts,
original art forms.
 Films, videos, TV programs, and digital
recordings.
 Documentaries, feature films, TV news
broadcast, radio broadcast recordings, and
recorded music of particular era.
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
 To check the authenticity of the sources that are
presented to be used in writing history.
 Sources have to undergo doubting and therefore
should be critically tested for validity.
Two Kinds:
A. External Criticism
B. Internal Criticism
A. External Criticism - Covers the physical
examinations of sources like documents,
manuscripts, books, pamphlets, maps, inscriptions
and monuments.
 Consideration in doing validation:
authorship, date and place of publication,
textual errors, and meaning of words used.
 Authorship - The name of the author of the
document provides credence in the
establishment of validity of a certain document.
 The author’s name itself can provide for the
test of authenticity.
 In case of anonymous writings, the office
that holds the record should also be taken
into consideration.
 Date and Place of Publication - The date of
the document including the time and place of
publication should be properly analyzed in order
to establish its authenticity.
 The historian should look for dates mentioned
within the manuscript or cross check with other
records.
  Textual Errors - The style of writing of
author can also be used to authenticate the
originality of the document.
 If the style of writing does not match the author’s
style of writing then the document is dubious.

 Meanings of Words Used - Historian have to

interpret the words used based on the time when
the document was made.
 Historian have to take consideration the place and
culture when the document was made.
Example: Code of Kalantiaw

B. Internal Criticism - Understanding both literal

and real meaning of words.

o Historian should:
 Be able to analyze and interpret the contents
of documents and their real meaning.

 Posses the capacity to doubt all documents

and facts when these are not yet subject to
authentication.

 Verify if the writer of the document has a

first hand information or had experience the
phenomena he wrote and how long was the
time lapsed between the occurrence of the
event and the time the document was
written.